Unexpected
by misenagi
Summary: Hermione suddenly turns bad and begins an all out battle with Draco. Confused, and concerned? Draco tries to find out why Hermione is acting different and tries to bring her back to her old self before it's too late or else...
1. Aboard the Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 1** _(Aboard the Hogwart's Express)_

Summer vacation was over. The students of Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry were just boarding the train when suddenly…

"Hey, you guys! Wait up!" Hermione tried to catch up with Ron and Harry.

She ran as fast as she could but then she didn't notice a certain blond boy who placed one foot in front of her which made her… smack her face right unto the pavement.

"Aaargh!" She groaned.

"Yo Granger, watch where you're going. Is it true or do my eyes deceive me that you have practically gone blind pushing your nose on those big books at the library? That clearly explains your poor vision!" Draco smirked at the sight that was in front of him.

Goyle laughed at that remark only because Draco nudged him in the stomach.

"Tsk..Tsk..Tsk… Poor pavement, it didn't know what was in stored for him." Crabbe said.

That's when Hermione noticed the crowd that was pointing at her and laughing at the same time.

* * *

"Excuse us people, coming through." Ron tried to break through the thick crowd to see what was happening.

Draco looked at him, not at all surprised to see Weasel scurrying about. "Well if it isn't Weasel, the sidekick, where's Potty?"

"Put a sock in it Malfoy," Ron retorted, all the while, trying to control his temper with balled fists.

Ron looked around, he recognized Hermione on the ground, hurt and humiliated in front of everyone. He immediately had an angry expression on his face, "What happened?" he said, "Did someone hurt you?"

Harry entered the big circle, "What's the big commotion? Why the gathering? Why…." He wasn't able to finish his sentence; he was shocked to see their best friend, the center of attention and who was at the verge of tears.

"Whoah…" he said, "that's some nasty looking booboo."

"Booboo my foot! For me, it feels terminal!" Hermione moaned.

"You all right?" Ron said, a concerned look on his face.

"Hear, hear, the gang's all here! Attention everyone, you may now bow and kiss Potter's feet because your savior had just made his wonderful appearance!" Draco said sarcastically.

Someone said, "Ooohh, I smell a fight! Fight! Fight! Fighhhht!"

Harry and Ron were about to say something nasty but they were interrupted by a sound of a bell coming from the Hogwart's train. "What are you waiting for? Board the train!" the conductor said trying not to lose his patience.

The students began to load their trunks and went inside the train to look for empty compartments.

"You sure you're ok, Hermione?" Harry said while helping her stand up and fix herself.

"Yeah… I… guess so… I…" she bit her lip, holding back tears.

"Let's go board the train…" Ron quietly said.

* * *

"You guys go ahead, I just want to be alone right now," said Hermione with a fake smile on her lips.

"But Hermione, we can't leave you on your own!" Ron tried to reason with her.

Hermione took his hand. Ron blushed and his ears went scarlet. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Go find yourselves a compartment. I'll find one for myself," she smiled.

"Let's go Ron. If that's what she wants… then… see you later Herm," Harry said, hesitating.

* * *

While making herself comfortable in the compartment, Hermione thought, 'I don't know what's worse, having your parents say that they need a divorce or being the laughing stock of my school.' "Why do bad things happen to me? Am I a jinx?"

Lost in her thoughts, she soon drifted off to sleep…

(A/N: This is my first attempt in writing fanfiction and it might be the last if I'm not good at these things. Anyway, please be kind and review! Thanks!)


	2. Who are you?

**Chapter 2 **_(Who are you?) _

The ride aboard Hogwarts Express was over. Everyone, except Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now with the other students from different houses, riding enchanted stagecoaches to Hogwarts Castle. They would have been in one of those carriages if only…

"Hermione, wake up! Open the door. The other sixth graders are piling out. We're the only ones left," Harry pleaded, knocking loudly on the compartment's door.

He and Ron could not see what was happening inside the compartment because all the curtains were tucked in to let no light pass through.

"Open up or we'll magic ourselves in!" Ron went on.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside Hermione's compartment, a gust of cold wind blew off the curtains. A black ball of fire with streaks of red that looked like blood appeared and floated around the compartment. It then took shape as a girl with long, black hair with a mischievous smile playing on her lips. Hermione gaped and was taken aback. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. 'Is this a dream?" she thought. She pinched herself three times, "Ow!" 'If I'm dreaming, then why does it hurt?' she thought.

Stuttering, "W-who a-are y-you?" she said, confusion mixed with fear passed over her.

"No need to be frightened Hermione," the mysterious girl, who looked a few years older, walked over to where Hermione was standing, showing her terrifying smile, "I saw you at the train station, I felt bad for… for what had just happened back there…"

"H-how d-do you k-know my n-name?" questioned Hermione. Hermione couldn't make out the face of the woman in front of her since it was partly covered by long ravenous hair that reached down to her waist.

"I know all… I see all…" the girl said, sending chills down on Hermione's spine.

"Please… d-don't hurt m-me…" Hermione begged, to stop the strange girl from haunting her.

"Oh, but I won't. In fact, I think we're going to be the best of friends," the raven-haired lady went on, "I'm Raine. Those stupid fools who had hurt your feelings must pay!"

Hermione shuddered, Raine flashed her a wicked grin revealing her decomposed teeth.

* * *

"Alohomora!" Harry took a step back. A spurt of golden light came out of Harry's wand.

The door immediately opened, showing Hermione standing on the far corner of the compartment, facing the window.

"Hermione, why weren't you answering the door?" Harry pointed out.

"Yeah. We thought something bad happened to you!" Ron said, relieved to see that Hermione was all right.

"Now why would you think that?" Hermione turned to face them but she was no longer the sweet and innocent girl that Harry and Ron befriended. She became Raine and Raine became her and now, they are one and the same. No one, not ever can stop them… Only time will tell of what there is to come…

* * *

"Aaaahhh! Noooooo!" Draco startled Crabbe and Goyle with his sudden outburst. He was nervous and sweating. 'No! This must not happen!' he mumbled to himself.

Goyle stopped eating his favorite chocolate frogs, he faced Draco with question marks written all over his face, "What's he talking about?" he said to Crabbe who was picking his nose.

"I think… I don't know what I think… Do you know what I think?" Crabbe scratched his head trying to remember something.

"Uh… No… That's because you haven't told me anything yet." Goyle replied.

"Oh… Right!" Crabbe said.

* * *

"What's he talking about?" Goyle asked Crabbe for the second time.

"I think…" Crabbe replied, "I think he's… he's dreaming!"

Goyle let out a cry of terror, "Oh no! Oh no! What should we do, Crabbe? What should we do?" he said helplessly, making it sound like a big deal.

"Uhm… I think this is the part where we wake him up," Crabbe suggested.

"Oh… Right again!" said Goyle.

He and Crabbe shook Draco wildly to wake him up. A few minutes ago, they found Draco asleep on his four-poster bed. Anyway, Draco was unloading his personal necessities out of his trunk when he fell asleep. He had this weird dream about someone, he could not remember who she was, what he does know is that she is dangerous and is seeking revenge for all those who had hurt her in the past and now, she is back, risen from the dead, back from eternity… 'Could it be… Voldemort?' he thought. Draco tried to picture Voldemort in a long, black nightgown showing of his curves, "Yikes! How awful!" he shuddered at the thought. 'Nah… Couldn't be. Besides, he's a guy and a monstrous looking one if I may so myself,' he muttered under his breath. His stomach churned, which clearly reminded him of his hunger. "Crabbe, Goyle, let's go down the Great Hall and eat. My stomach rumbling around like this is killing me."

_**

* * *

**_

The three joined the Slytherin table, waiting for the delicacies to be served. Everyone was enjoying the feast, voices echoed inside the great hall telling one another of their wonderful summer vacations and their misadventures. Today, the enchanted ceiling was black, having visible of stars. Hundreds of candles lighted the hall illuminating the high table where Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster and the professors, one of which was the new defense against the dark arts teacher eat. Dumbledore stood up, "Ahem… Nice Evening to all of you," he smiled, "As you know, we had yet had another teacher who has decided to quit his job as your defense against the dark arts teacher but currently, we are very fortunate to have with us, Professor Mort Higgins. Let us all make his stay comfortable." At this remark, Severus Snape, a professor who teaches potions shot a look of pure hatred to the new professor. Each teacher except Snape seemed to like the new professor even stern-looking Professor Mc Gonagall was smiling and chatting with him.

Students were now used to having a different defense against the dark arts teacher every year. Most of them thought the position was cursed. The students clapped and welcomed the new Professor who looked like he was in his mid-20's or something. Fred and George who was sitting in the Gryffindor table hooted and whistled.

The sorting of first years into their houses then took place beginning with the usual singing of the Sorting Hat… Harry remembers when he had been sorted in Gryffindor during his first year at Hogwarts only because he had asked the old, battered hat not to put him in Slytherin. Soon, the sorting had ended. Professor Flitwick took away the sorting hat and went to his place in the high table. The first years that were now sorted went to sit with their new families, whether from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.

"Ok, settle down… Well, let the feast begin!" said Dumbledore, vaguely squinting through his half-moon spectacles.

Right there and then, the plates and goblets filled with a wide variety of food and drinks. Everyone ate and got merry except two people. In the Gryffindor table, someone was worrying Harry and Ron. They noticed something strange in Hermione; it was as if she was not herself anymore. Maybe it was the way she spoke or is it the evil glint in her eyes that told them to stay away from her and the look that tells them to get lost, 'Weird,' they thought. Both kept quiet of her behavior and decided to confront her tomorrow. 'Maybe she's just tired and in need of rest,' Harry and Ron considered this idea.

When not a single inch of food was left and when everyone was full, all the students were told to go back to their dormitories to get a good night's sleep so as to be ready for their classes tomorrow.


	3. Haunted

**Chapter 3**_ (Haunted)_

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night. She couldn't sleep and so she went to the bathroom to check herself up in the mirror. Instead of seeing her own reflection, she saw Raine with eyes that were really penetrating.

"Hermione… Nice to see you again," Raine said.

Scared, Hermione backed away from the mirror. "What do you want from me? I have nothing to offer you! Please… Leave me alone!" she cried. Hermione was trembling all over.

"But my dear, you do have a lot to offer me and I can help you…" said Raine in a monotonous, haunting voice.

At that same time, Raine got out of the mirror and stood beside Hermione.

"B-but I d-don't want t-to!" Hermione moaned.

This time, Raine was mad. No one can ever resist her. No one has the right.

"YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME! YOU WILL DO WHATEVER I SAY AND WANT! YOU WILL BE THE KEY TO MY REVENGE!" Raine shrieked. She had put her hands on Hermione's shoulder, her sharp nails clawing at her smooth skin. Then, it happened; she went inside and possessed Hermione's body.

_**

* * *

**_

"Aaahhh!" Draco woke up from his terrible nightmare. This was the second time he woke up from a strange dream. "It all seemed so vivid…" he thought.

First, he saw a young girl with long black hair, dressed in white. She was clutching her teddy bear so hard. Maybe she was afraid, sitting in the corner of a dark room. Small light had passed through the shutters of an old window, reflecting the pale but beautiful face of the young girl who looked just like… Hermione.

Draco shook his face hard, throwing a few punches here and there. He was trying to find out if it was real or not but then he realized that he must have looked stupid at the same time. "Wait a minute! Was that G-granger?" he shivered. "Uh! And did I just call her beautiful?" He tried not to gag. "I must be getting soft." He shook his head in disgust.

"That mudblood is even haunting me in my dreams…" Draco said in a sickened tone. 'Well, there's no point in going back to sleep. I'd better hurry and get dressed before Pansy wakes up and finds me again.'

Draco went downstairs to the Slytherin common room. He decided to sit down for a while and look over his class schedule before going down. Today, the Slytherins have double period Herbology with the Gryffindors.

"Great… Just great… Now I have to endure two whole hours with the stupid Gryffindors!" he sighed. He was really not in the mood to go over his usual routine. You know, play pranks on every person he sees. So for the first time in his life, Draco decided that he would lie low just for one day.

"After all," he thought, "people already fear me. What more could I ask for?"

That's what he thinks…


	4. Draco's Decision

**Chapter 4 **_(Draco's Decision)_

"Settle down… Settle down class… Today we are going to study the salient characteristics of a flooton… Well, can anyone tell me what a flooton is?" said Professor Sprout as she entered the room.

Neville's hand shot up into the air and was trying to get the attention of their Herbology teacher. He was proud since this was the only subject where he got astounding marks.

"Ok, Neville. What is the answer, if you must?" asked Professor Sprout.

"Well, A flooton is a green creature covered with mossy hair full of dandruffs. The white colored-powder known as dandruff is then used as floo powder," Neville droned on.

Professor Sprout smiled, "Well said Neville and for that I give five points to Gryffindor."

* * *

At the back of the class, sat Hermione who was twirling her locks of hair around her fingers absent-mindedly. Harry noticed this and tried to get the attention of Ron, "Psssst… Psssst… Ron!" Ron, who was staring lazily at their Herbology teacher, sat back up suddenly and gave a small yelp in surprise, attracting the attention of Professor Sprout. Professor Sprout raised her eyebrows questioningly. Ron quickly averted his eyes and turned to looked at Harry. He whispered, "What? You didn't have to scare the hell out of me…"

"Listen, have you noticed any change in Hermione lately?" Harry said, trying to ignore Ron's tone of voice.

"Huh? What? Hermione? Yeah… I mean she always recites right? She didn't even answer the question of Sprout," Ron replied.

They weren't able to continue their conversation since Professor Sprout already caught their attention.

"Ahem… As I was saying, divide yourselves by twos and start extracting the floo powder from the flootons. Time starts now," said Professor Sprout.

Harry and Ron became partners. Crabbe and Goyle were partners. Neville was with the new student, Thomas. Parvati and Lavender were together. Pansy, well, she tried to make Draco her partner but failed miserably and so she just joined another girl from Slytherin. Only Draco and Hermione were left partnerless.

Professor Sprout saw this and so she said, "Since both of you haven't got a partner, why don't you stay together and work on the project?"

"But Professor…" they both said.

"No buts." their teacher snapped.

Draco and Hermione snarled at each other. "Well Mudblood, guess I'm stuck with you," he said.

"Yeah. And I'm stuck with you ferret boy!" she said.

"Whatever, just shut up and do the project," said Draco.

Even if Draco and Hermione were partners, they both worked independently then one time when Draco wasn't looking, Hermione deliberately set her pot of flootons on fire and abruptly shrieked saying, "Draco! What do you think you're doing to my Flootons?" she said in an extra loud voice for the professor and the other students to hear.

"Huh? What are you talking about, mudblood?" he said cautiously.

"Stop acting as if you're innocent! Professor, did you hear what he called me?" she moaned, pointing at Draco, as if on the brink of tears.

"There2x child. I'll get you another pot," their teacher patted Hermione on the back and hugged her. Professor Sprout didn't see however, that the person she's embracing was now smirking and pointing her middle finger up at Draco as she muttered under her breath, "Fool…"

* * *

"Hey Ron! Did you see what I just saw?" Harry said, still recovering from the shock. He nudged Ron on the arm.

"Huh? Yeah… I mean did you see the look in Malfoy's face? It was hysterical! Whoa… Wait, I need to register this in my brain so I'll never forget this wonderful day… Wahoo! Hermione, you just brightened my day! Way to go Herm!" Ron whistled loudly.

"Look here Ron. I mean, even I would surely want Malfoy to get in trouble but this is crazy! Its Hermione were talking about! Look at her; she's not the Hermione we know. Sure she hates him as much as we do but Hermione would never do that let alone set fire to her own project!" Harry said weakly.

"Ok… Ok… I get your point! But you have to admit, that sure was funny!" Ron laughed.

* * *

Professor Sprout's grip on his arm was getting more painful by the second but Draco didn't mind. He was confused. He was not even sure of what he felt at that time. All he knows was that something was wrong, very wrong.

Draco made up his mind, 'I'm going to get to the bottom of this. A challenge she wants, a challenge she'll get. I'm not going to just sit down and let her ruin my image! I have a reputation to maintain. This means war! Well Granger, get ready… because you're about to face your worst nightmare!' he smirked.

* * *

At long last, they reached the office of Professor Snape, head of the Slytherin House. Professor Sprout knocked until Snape opened the door, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Professor Sprout, what brings you here may I ask?" Snape let out a loud yawn.

"Sit down2x," Snape said, flicking his wand to produce two chairs. "Well?"

"Draco here ruined the project of one of my students. They were working in one table but when Ms. Granger wasn't looking, he set fire on her pot!" Professor Sprout said.

Snape looked at Draco with an amused expression on his face, "I assure you Professor Sprout that there must have been a misunderstanding. This kind of accident might have been the fault of your clumsy student, Ms. Granger. After all, Draco here has had no such record of misbehavior in my account. My pupil wouldn't do that, would you Draco?"

"No sir, I wouldn't…" Draco said truthfully.

"I rest my case," Snape sneered.

* * *

_BAM _

The door closed loudly, caused by Professor Sprout's swift departure. She tried her best to reason unto the deaf ears of Severus Snape but she couldn't make him inflict even the slightest punishment upon Draco. She didn't believe that a troublemaker like Draco Malfoy wouldn't do something bad to an innocent girl like Hermione.

* * *

"Whew… Glad that's over with. After all, I really didn't do what she thinks I did," Draco said, finally relieved. He looked into Snape's eyes and what he saw was pure skepticism. There was a smile though playing upon the lips of the professor.

"Draco, Draco, Draco… If you want to pull a prank on Ms. Granger, I only have one advice. Try not to get caught next time, ok?" Snape said after Professor Sprout left.

"Move along now. You mustn't waste your time when you can put a good one over Potter and his so-called friends." Snape winked at Draco.

Draco stood up silently and went out the door that was held open by his house head.


	5. Confrontation

**Chapter 5 **_(Confrontation)_

"Did you like what you did, Hermione? Were you satisfied? You can do more… You can do anything…" Once again Raine was taunting her. Provoking Hermione to do something bad and today, Raine succeeded.

Hermione kept on replaying the incident that happened a while ago in her mind. She couldn't believe what she just did. 'No, what Raine did,' she thought, 'or was it I who did it? Was it my fault?' She needed help badly but whom could she trust? Hermione couldn't bring herself to tell Harry and Ron about her predicament. She didn't want to be a burden to them and have them worry over her own problems. Raine will know if she did and if anyone interferes, he or she will suffer, that was part of the plan.

"Hermione, you're not touching your food. What's wrong?" Harry's eyes were full of concern. They were in the great hall with the others, eating dinner. Harry noticed that Hermione was staring off to space. It was as if she was not there at all. It was driving him and Ron crazy. They knew something has happened. 'But what could it be?' he thought.

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron. 'They really care about me,' this thought made her want to cry. 'If only they knew…'

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin Table…

"Hey Draco, are you going to eat those muffins that came with your soup?" Crabbe said while munching on his own food.

He and Goyle never had an end to their appetite. And now they were fighting on who gets to eat Draco's muffins.

"I should get the muffins because I saw it first and besides you're overweight while I am physically fit." Crabbe said proudly while flexing his muscles.

"Yeah right," Goyle said sarcastically, "You mean physically fat! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Or better yet, have you even stepped on a weighing scale before? Coz you know, you should!"

"Why you…"

"Pig! Pig! Pigg! Piggg! Piiiigggg!"

"Aaarrggh!"

"Oink! Oink! Oinnnkkk!"

"That's it man! YOU are going dowwwnnnn!"

"Will you two shut your freaking mouths up? First of all, there are two muffins so why don't you just quit talking and share! Second, you two don't need to compare and argue over your weights. You're both overweight so it's more of a tie really!" Draco was in a bad mood and it didn't help seeing his two so-called friends fighting over a small matter.

Crabbe and Goyle both noticed that Draco was getting more and more irritated by the minute and so they decided to do what he told them to and that is, to keep their mouths shut.

Draco didn't know how to react. He was angry yet at the same time he was intrigued, curious as to what Hermione was up to. Besides, he has to be on top of everything and there's not a single weird situation in his life that he didn't get to the bottom of. Surely, this was one of those situations.

* * *

Hermione decided that she could not stay there much longer and so she wanted to go back to the girl's dormitories to rest.

"You guys, I'm tired. I'm going to bed now. I'll go ahead ok?" she said as she stood up and slid back the chair to its proper place.

Just as she was about to leave, Ron took hold of her right arm and said sheepishly, "Good night Hermione. Take care of yourself. A lot of people care about you. We know we do."

"Yeah, and don't you ever forget that ok?" Harry added, grinning.

Hermione smiled, "Thanks you guys. I also feel the same way…"

* * *

Draco was staring lazily at his friends who were wolfing down on his food when his eyes caught Hermione stand up and got out of the great hall. 'Where is she going? It's too early to go to bed. Hah! She thinks she can get away with what she did to me? Think again, mudblood.' He scoffed at the thought. And so he stood up and walked in the same direction where Hermione went, leaving Crabbe and Goyle eating with what's left of his food. He saw her go up the grand staircase in a hurry. He wanted to catch her by surprise but the only way he could do that was if she doesn't see him following her.

She was walking so fast. He couldn't catch up. Suddenly, she stopped. "Come out from where you're hiding. I know you're following me. Show yourself!"

'No point in hiding,' Draco showed himself and sighed. He started walking towards Hermione and stopped a foot away from her, looking at her with piercing eyes.

"So Malfoy, why are you following me? Is it because you want to badger me or is it just your thing to go on sneaking around people and minding their own business? Coz you know I wouldn't be surprise to see you annoy people since it's your favorite past time!" She said angrily.

"Easy… Easy… I'm not the one who destroyed a project in herbology and had someone else took the blame for it!" He hissed while taking one step forward so that Hermione was forced to step backward until her back made contact with the wall.

She had never been this close to him. She could feel his breath on her face, making her feel very uneasy. He was tall and so he was looking down on her. She could smell his cologne, a scent so mild yet fragrant and manly. 'Probably expensive too…' She felt shivers going down her spine.

"Well… I umm… I…" Hermione's voice was quivering. She knew it was true but still, it wasn't her fault! It was Raine. This was unfair! She thought.

She was having a hard time speaking especially since he was standing so close to her. It didn't help that he had an attractive face.

Draco pinned Hermione against the wall, holding back her arms at both sides. She tried twisting her arms around but his grip on them were very strong. She tried to look around for an escape route but failed miserably. Finally, she gave up and stared back at Draco determinedly.

Draco smirked. "You trying to escape?" He said, tightening his grip on her arms. Hermione flinched in pain.

"Be careful you filthy little mublood! Watch yourself. Coz I'm not gonna stand here having you doing things like that to me again. I'm the only one who can do that," he sneered, "no one, not even you, only me." He was enjoying the effect he had on her.

"Get your dirty hands off of me!" She shrieked and with that she pushed Draco away with enough force that she could muster. Now that she was free, she ran as fast as her feet could carry her leaving Draco smirking.


	6. Slipperious Obscurity!

**Chapter 6 **_(Slipperious Obscurity!)_

Hermione joined Harry and Ron for breakfast the next day. She was peculiarly cheerful. Not only that but her appearance was different today. She had put on straightening charms on her hair. She seemed pale and her lips were of dark crimson. You would have thought that she was a vampire or something. She practically skipped over to her seat at the table.

Harry patted a seat for Hermione to sit next to him. "Hey… You look different! What's up?"

"Yeah. Care to share what's on your mind?" Ron grinned.

Hermione smiled and stared at the two of them. "We have our first Defence Against the Dark Arts today! I am so excited!" She said as he looked at the high table. Her eyes fell on the new teacher. 'Very excited…' She thought.

"I know what you mean. I hope he's as good as Professor Lupin!" Harry said as he passed the piece of toast to Ron.

"Let's hope he is…"

* * *

"Aargh! I'm gonna be late! Stupid alarm clock! It didn't even wake me up! What kind of a goofball will invent an alarm clock that doesn't even alarm!"

Draco was running as fast as he could. He didn't even have time to eat breakfast. He woke up that morning to find the Slytherin common room deserted. No one even bothered to wake him up. Not even his two so-called friends, Crabbe and Goyle.

'They were probably hungry and can't wait to go down and eat early! Why do I even bother relying on them?' He sighed.

* * *

"Oh! Before I forget, I have something to show you guys!"

The three had just finished their breakfast and were now being led by Hermione out of the great hall. They stopped just at the foot of the grand staircase.

"Why are we here? We better get a move on. Or we might earn ourselves detention for getting late," Ron asked, folding his arms across his chest.

He and Harry had question marks written all over their faces.

"Just wait and you'll see. You'll love this I promise." She hissed. All the while grinning naughtily.

Just then they saw Malfoy thundering down the staircase. He was so absorbed with being on time in class that he didn't even notice the three gryffindors who were watching his every move. 'Must be fast…' _panting_ 'Must be fast…'

"Umm… Is this it? We're here to watch Malfoy parade down the staircase?" Harry said with anxiety.

"Of course not! What kind of a person do you think I am?" Hermione replied.

"Hmmm… Let me answer that… An individual who has both beauty and brains?" Ron said sheepishly while looking down at the floor.

Hermione just looked at him as if he were crazy or something. "Watch and learn…" She murmured.

She looked from left to right. There was no one there except her, Harry, Ron, and Draco. She pulled out her wand, pointed it at Draco and muttered something under her breath.

"Slipperious Obscurity!"

Suddenly, a transparent spurt of light spurted from her wand and hit Draco's shoes.

"What the!" Draco was taken aback by surprise.

It happened so fast. At first, he felt that something was wrong with the stairs. It was very slippery. The next thing he knew, he had lost his footing and came tumbling down the stairs so fast that you would have been able to count the number of seconds that it took. He wasn't rolling down the stairs mind you. He fell on his butt plummeting down the same way.

He heard laughing and saw Hermione practically rolling on the floor clutching her stomach out of glee.

Ron and Harry just stood there. They didn't know how to react at first. Then, the truth suddenly sank down their brains. Ron was the first to react then followed by Harry. All three were hiccupping with laughter. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"You think that was funny, do you! You, filthy little mudblood and your bunch of cronies! Bet you had something to do with that, didn't you mudblood!"

Draco was angry. You could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears. He was very red in the face, both from anger and embarrassment. He quickly stood up and dusted himself off.

"Ummm… Hello? Isn't it obvious? Why would we be laughing our heads off if we didn't think it was funny? Duh!" She replied while trying to keep a straight face.

"Yo Malfoy! Maybe you should fall down the stairs more often! That way, you'll be able to make our day!" Ron snickered. He and Harry were still laughing.

Draco was about to say something nasty but then the bell rang which signaled the start of their classes.

He barely had time to say, "I'll get you for this mudblood!" He spat.

"Ohhh…. I'm so scared!" Hermione said mockingly. "Till next time then! Taa Taa!" She blew him a kiss.


	7. A candle in the dark

**Chapter 7 **_(A candle in the dark)_

Draco shot his hand to his hair, "You'll soon get yours mudblood." He smirked and regained his composure.

The trio watched Draco as he went pass by them muttering dark things under his breath. They could only make out these words, "I'll get you for this mudblood," over and over again.

Hermione tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and sneered, "Well... What's done is done..."

"C'mon. Let's go. I don't want to be late for our first DADA class and I'm sure as hell don't want to miss seeing HIM once again..." Hermione said the last part quietly as she took hold of Harry and Ron's hands, proceeding to the classroom.

* * *

There was only one light in the classroom, a single candle floating in mid-air just above the teacher's table.

All the other students were huddled in one corner of the classroom standing, nervous and at the same time fearful of what was going to happen. Eerie silence surrounded the room.

Ron and Harry, both curious on why the students were acting that way asked the others, "What's the matter? Why aren't you all seated yet?" They looked around them. Everything seemed to be in place except the lack of light in the classroom.

Neville who was near Ron at that time was fidgeting and was choking back tears. He tapped Ron on the shoulder and pointed at the direction of the teacher's table, voice quivering, "L-look o-over t-there..." That was all he got to say before he fainted. Luckily, someone was able to catch his fall.

In front of them was someone, they could not however figure out who that was. They couldn't make out if it was a woman or a man. All they saw was someone with long dark brown hair covering its entire face, standing just beneath the floating candle. The light of the candle was illuminating its body, casting dark shadows in the wall behind it.

Ron was the first to react. Hand to his mouth, gaping. "What's that? No one was there before!" Ron exclaimed. He could feel the hairs on his back beginning to rise. He stepped back and stared with wide eyes at the site in front of him.

All of a sudden, a voice was heard, deep in tone, a man's voice, "Who has thou dared to wake me up from my slumber!" The figure moved its head from side to side, as if looking one by one on the students. Finally, its eyes seemed to settle on Ron, "You there! Come here!"

"M-me?" Ron was shaking all over, "I-I d-didn't d-do a-anything!" He glanced pleadingly at Hermione and Harry; with the look that says _Help me!_

But Hermione stared straight ahead, not caring to what was happening around hair. Her eyes looked blank.

Harry now alert and more conscious of the situation took two steps forward, wand on his right hand, poised to attack. He stood bravely, "Whoever you are... I'm not going to let you hurt anybody here!"

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind was felt in the classroom and blew the only light that was in front of them. The room was enveloped in total darkness.

People began to panic. Screams were heard. Some were trying to get out of the classroom but the door would not budge. It seemed rooted to the spot. The sound of desks and chairs toppling over were heard.

The class was in total chaos.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

"Get your foot out of my face you moron!"

"Help!"

"Hiyaaaahhhh! You're stepping on my hand!"

"I don't want to die! Heck, I'm not ready to die!"

"I can't see! I can't see! I'm blind! Help!" _running around in circles until he hits a cabinet and passes out_

"My glasses fell down! I can't find my glasses!" _glass breaking_ "Uh oh…"

"Mommmyyyyy!"

Before Harry could utter a spell, the lights went back on. This time, there were enough lights to illuminate the whole classroom.


	8. A DADA class to remember

**Chapter 8 **_(A DADA Class To Remember)_

Harry looked around him; beside him was Ron who had his hands covering his eyes. He was right; the classroom was a total mess. The chairs and desks had been toppled over. Books and quills were strewn on the floor. Even the students, well very few of them anyway, were lying on the floor unconscious from the commotion that just happened a few minutes ago.

As Harry continued to scan the area before him, he saw Hermione slowly approach the longhaired figure standing near the teacher's table. Her arm was outstretched before her, about to touch the figure's face.

"Hermione! No!" Harry screamed and ran towards Hermione, about to pull her out of harm's way but it was too late. As soon as Hermione's hand was an inch away from the figure's face, the figure's hand reached out and gripped her right arm fast, not letting go. Still, Hermione used her other hand to touch the man's face.

Ron, now conscious of what was happening around them stood there in shock.

She was in a trance. Her hand lingered in the man's face as she muttered softly and melancholy, "Why?"

"Why? You're asking why! The three of you are late! That's why! What time is it? Huh?" The cloaked figure suddenly stood up and brushed his hair away from his face. Hermione jerked her hand off. Harry and Ron stood with their mouths opened. They soon recognized the face of their new DADA professor, angry.

This was the first time the two had a clear view of their new young teacher's face. He stood five foot and eleven inches tall with a lean, well-built body. He was very good-looking with long dark brown hair that fell gracefully on his shoulders. But that wasn't the thing that caught them the most, their teacher had these captivating and intense gray eyes that looked like swirling pits of who-knows-what.

"Sir? You're… We were just… We umm…" mumbled Harry. He and Ron could not believe that the man before them was the same one who almost scared the class half to death with his crazy antics. That's what they thought at least.

"You thought what? Well, I've got news for you young man, you have just been punk'd!" exclaimed Professor Mort. He started to laugh uncontrollably. "You… You… should have the seen the look on your faces. It was hilarious! I'm not going to let you hurt anybody here!" he said, annoyingly mimicking what Harry said a while ago.

"Hey sir, don't forget us. We helped too…" said Neville, suddenly regaining consciousness.

"Me too! I was good. Wasn't I?" giggled Parvati, standing up from her place on the floor.

"I can't believe I just did that but it was worth it!" added Dean.

Harry and Ron shook their heads in disbelief, "You did this just to make fun of us?" Harry said pointedly, embarrassment written all over his face. "Yeah… How could you?" Ron bowed his head shamefully.

Finally, Hermione spoke as she placed her hands on her hips. "Would you two stop being so melodramatic? It's sickening! Besides, there was no harm done." Clearly, she was irritated at two.

Harry and Ron were stunned. Hermione, of all people, their best friend would rebuke them and refuse to take their stand. The three of them were victims here after all. They both fell silent.

To ease the tension surrounding the class, Professor Mort cleared his throat and quickly said, "Easy, easy… You three were late and so I wanted to teach you all a lesson. Besides, there was something good that came out of this whole prank thing." He then looked at Harry and smiled at him. "You Mr. Potter displayed alertness in handling what you taught was danger. You reacted quite well and fast enough."

Professor Mort clapped. "All of you did your best in welcoming these three and for that I give 10 points to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff! However… since you three are late, I am tempted to deduct 5 points from Gryffindor." He said now turning to Harry and the others. "But… now that I think about it, maybe you three has gone through enough. Ain't I right?" He grinned and motioned for the class to sit down as they began the day's lesson.

The lesson went on smoothly with Hermione raising her hand more than the usual every time Professor Mort asked a question. Every time she recited and was called to stand up, she would look at the professor straight in the eyes, refusing to back down her gaze upon him. This made the professor uneasy.

'I swear there's something about this girl that reminds me of something,' he thought for the nth time. 'She looks at me as if I'm... Wait a minute… Have I met her before?' He scratched his head in annoyance. 'Hmmm… Then again, I could always ask her..'

An hour passed until the class was finally over. Harry and Ron quickly packed their things and started to head out the door, deciding that they would just wait for Hermione outside the classroom.

Hermione was the last one left. She slowly approached the teacher's table and stopped right there. The professor, who was trying to look busy by arranging some papers in his desk, could not take it anymore and so he looked at Hermione and asked, "Yes? Do you need something… er… Ms. Granger?"

Hermione stared straight at him, eyes blank with no emotion on her face. "I never was sorry for your eyes…" She muttered softly but clear enough for him to hear her.

The professor was taken aback. He was about to say something but Hermione already turned her back on him and immediately walked out the door.


	9. Raine

**Chapter 9** _(Raine)_

No words could explain how much the new teacher felt after hearing those words, which sounded strangely familiar…

'_I never was sorry for your eyes…'_

'Just what did she mean by that?' he thought. All this thinking was giving him a headache. He reached out a hand to massage his temple. Suddenly, he stood up and yanked open a drawer in his desk. There he found a mirror, which he used to look at his face, giving particular attention his eyes. Predominant gray eyes stared back at him. The same pair, which became the source of his pain, a brutal reminder of the past.

'What does she know? Or rather what else does she know? This girl… She's giving me the creeps.'

_Flashback_

"_Mort! Watch out!" one of his friends warned. He was running, with arms stretched out above him, his back turned towards the direction he was going and so he did not see the person who was sitting on the lawn, leaning on a tree, dainty hands holding a small black book. _

_She was the same age as he, also in her final year at Hogwarts, only that she was from Ravenclaw and he from Slytherin. People called her a freak since she always covered part of her face with her long black hair and she liked divination so much and was extremely good at it. As far as divination was concerned, no one gave particular attention to it. But she was different. People thought she was weird. She rarely talked to anyone, a loner, probably because people isolated themselves from her. _

_Too late…_

"_Aaargh!" he fell, stumbled over the girl's legs. He was playing catch with his friends, throwing the quaffle here and there, back and forth. They were not riding a broom though. He together with some friends formed part of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was captain and chaser._

"_Oh! Um… Erm… Sorry about that. I wasn't looking…" He quickly stood up, dusted himself off and turned around to face the odd-looking girl. She stared back at him quietly, not moving._

_His friends were running towards them, "You alright man?" Craig said hurriedly while Derek, his other friend, looked at the girl from head-to-toe. He smirked and said, "If it isn't the long-haired freak… You here to give us a free freak show? Well thanks but no thanks."_

_Mort stepped in front of the girl. "Hey, that's enough. Leave her alone." He said firmly as he gave Derek a contemptuous look in the eye. _

"_Whoa.. Easy man.. I was just having a little fun. You don't need to get all hot about it." Derek said with his hands in front of him, slightly backing away from Mort. He had though a sneering look on his face._

"_So, what's your name, miss?" Mort turned to look at the girl, not minding his friends. He reached out a hand. She looked at the hand suspiciously. Then looked at the boy who offered it to her, thinking if it was ok to trust the guy. Finally, she took his hand and said, "Raine… You can call me Raine…"_

_End of Flashback_

Hermione had gone out the door quickly, a triumphant look on her face.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Harry asked warily. He and Ron were waiting in the corridor for Hermione. They noticed that she spent a fairly long amount of time inside the classroom alone with their new teacher. Disturbing thoughts crossed their minds.

"Yeah. Had a nice chat with our new professor?" Ron said sarcastically, his eyebrows knitted along his forehead. He was no fool. Both he and Harry noticed how Hermione acted around the new teacher. Who wouldn't? It was so obvious. She had this lovesick look on her face the whole time and was raising her hand more than usual. It was… upsetting.

Hermione turned around to face them, an eyebrow raised, "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She slowly walked towards them, eyeing the two with resentment.

"You heard me! Bet you like Professor Mort don't you? And what's up with that obsessed look on your face?" Ron was practically fuming. He was jealous. But that wasn't the only case; the new professor did play a prank on them.

"Ron… Maybe you should calm down a little." Harry said quietly, putting one hand on Ron's shoulder. His gaze shifted from Ron to Hermione.

Hermione gave Ron a look of disgust. "So what if I do! Why would you care anyway!" This was not the time to be in their company right now. She pushed past them and started to walk away. Suddenly, she faced them and shrieked, "Mind your own freaking business!"

* * *

"Well3x… Having a lover's spat, aren't they?" Draco snickered. He happened to pass through and heard the conversation that the three Gryffindors had. He had hidden himself behind a wall, careful not to let anyone see him. "So… little miss-perfect has a crush on the new professor, huh? I'll fix that..." He sneered. "It's a good thing I'm on the right place, at the right time…"

He watched as Hermione stormed off to another direction, leaving Harry and Ron contemplating on what she just told them.

Ron shook his head in guilt, "Was I wrong?" He said reproachfully to Harry, looking at him with a pained look on his face.

Harry bowed down his head, "I don't know Ron… I don't know…"

At this, Draco was laughing uncontrollably from his hiding place. "This is just too much… Getting too mushy now, aren't they?" He said, leering. "I could definitely use this against them. Mwahaha!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched voice interrupted behind him. A voice he knew too well and had tried to avoid for years. "P-pansy?" He gulped. He turned around and prepared for the worst. Normally, he would have put on his mean demeanor when it's Pansy he's dealing with. This time however, she caught him by surprise.

"Oh Draco dearest! What are you doing here all by yourself? Came looking for me, weren't you?" Pansy flung her arms around Draco. She hugged him so tight that it was hard for him to breathe. "Everything's all right now Draco, Pansy's here to take care of you!"

"Ge-roff m-me!" He said, panting. He took hold of Pansy's arms and put them down at her sides. He clutched his stomach, gasping for breath. He regained his composure and hissed menacingly, "One more outburst like that and you're dead Pansy!" He can feel a headache coming and being in the company of an obsessed stalker was not making him feel better. "Don't ever come near me again… or else," he warned, causing the girl to flinch. Pansy drew back and ran away from Draco as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face.

All that noise didn't help Draco.

"Hey! Who's there?" Harry said suspiciously. He looked around him, eyes darting here and there. It's a good thing it was their break time, for him and Ron have been standing there for a couple of minutes now and anymore standing would make them late for their next class.

Ron started to approach the wall Draco was hiding in. "You! I should have known! You of all people would eavesdrop on us!" All Ron's frustration was filling in on his words.

"Eavesdrop? Don't you think that's a bit too harsh, freckled face?" Draco smirked. "Well if you call merely dropping by and having the capability to hear eavesdropping, then that's your opinion. Although I don't think that having ears, which allow me to hear is much of a crime, isn't it?" He said, taunting Ron, an irritating look on his face.

"I must be off. Don't want to be late again, won't I?" Draco said, mocking the two.

The last Harry and Ron saw of Draco before he went past them was the proud look on his face.


	10. All the things she said

**Chapter 10** _(All the things she said)_

A week had passed and still Hermione hadn't talked to Ron and Harry. She'd often walk past them without so much as a fleeting look. She referred to them as if they were invisible, ignoring them when they call her name out loud. 'Serves them right… No one's around now to help them with their homework. They'll fail every class without me!' She thought menacingly.

She abruptly covered her mouth with one hand, as if to suppress her thoughts. 'Wait… W-w-what's happening to m-me? I… I… can't believe I just said that… They're my best friends… How? Why?'

'For a smart girl, you can be stupid at times…' A voice within her said.

'I… I'm going crazy…' Hermione's hand flew up to her head. Her head was throbbing. She can barely concentrate on what her Arithmancy teacher was saying. 'Voices… in m-my head… S-s-somebody h-help m-me… P-please… A-anybody…' She could not think straight.

A maniacal laugh echoed inside her, eerie and sadistic. 'You can never get rid of me… You are mine…'

"Nooooo!" Hermione moaned out load as she fell off her chair. A few tears falling down her cheeks. Each student was now looking at her; their surprised and confused faces gaping.

Her teacher stared at her in shock. "What's wrong child? Why did you scream? You don't feel well?" She asked as she approached Hermione cautiously. The teacher placed one hand on Hermione's forehead.

Suddenly, Hermione flinched and quickly drew her body away. She slowly lifted her face up and looked at the teacher straight in the eyes. Her teacher gave a small yelp.

Hermione's eyes were now fiery-looking and she looked enraged.

"Get your hands off of me…' Hermione hissed. She quickly stood up, briefly looked at her teacher and said threateningly, "Don't ever touch me again…" And that was it. She walked out of the classroom amidst everyone's stunned expressions.

* * *

'_Mr. Malfoy, fetch Madame Pomfrey this instant. Tell her that a classmate of yours has ignorantly brewed the wrong potion and spilled it on himself, causing him to believe that he's queen of the Nile. Inform her that I have already reversed the effects of the fantasy potion that your classmate made. I believe she has a restraining concoction that could calm Mr. Cleo here.' _Professor Snape, his potions teacher told him.

Draco was still laughing when he took the grand staircase up to the second floor.

"Hahahahahaha… What does he think of himself? Cleopatra? Hahahahaha… Great… I have another one to add to my list of people to make fun of…" He said to himself as he took a moving staircase up to the third floor.

It was the same floor where the Arithmancy classroom was situated. Draco knew that the corridors were deserted since it was still a class hour. He rounded a corner and went left. He was walking slowly, taking time to avoid going back to class when someone brushed past him unexpectedly. He looked back and saw the back of a girl with long brown hair running. 'Granger? Why's she in a hurry? Isn't everyone supposed to be in class?' Draco wondered. He saw her ran off to the opposite direction where the staircase leading downstairs was located.

Draco was curious. He ignored Professor's Snape order to fetch Madame Pomfrey and had set off at a run to catch up with the girl. He was right. It was Hermione.

He was halfway off the corridor when he saw her standing near the edge of the floor. The floor's railings were the only ones serving as a barrier between her and the air. She was staring madly below, her hands gripping the railings.

They were forty feet off the ground! They were in the third floor!

'Is she planning to do what I'm thinking she's about to do?' Draco thought frantically.

He saw her slowly put one leg over the railing then another. She was now sitting on the railings, her hands still grasping them.

Draco was stunned. He knew what was going to happen next. Once she took her hands off those railings, she'd fall down to her death!


	11. In the arms of my enemy

**Chapter 11** _(In the arms of my enemy)_

_She was running, her mind in a reel of disturbing thoughts. She had just shouted at her Arithmancy teacher. And now her chances of getting high marks in that class were destroyed. Her life was ruined. There was no point in going back. She had lost control over her own body and her conscience was slowly eating her alive. _

'_If I can't have you, no one will!' a voice inside her screamed. _

_Her body willed her to get out of there. If she didn't, she'd die. But she could not move. _

_Her vision went blank. Everything became blurry and dark. But still she could feel herself move. She was leaning onto something. She could not figure out what it was. One leg rose then another. She was sitting now, her hands holding on to something. She finally felt at peace. _

_If she could only stand up then everything will be all right…

* * *

_

Draco wasted no time. He ran, stopped just behind Hermione.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" He yelled. He was going to pull her out of there, try to knock some sense into her. His arms were stretched out wide, about to touch her. But he was too late…

Hermione had let go. But before she did, she looked at Draco with sad, mournful eyes. He was taken aback.

She was falling, moments from touching the ground, moments away from her death. She closed her eyes.

'_Everything will be all right…' _

"Oh Shit…" Draco whispered. He took no time in getting out his wand, aimed it at Hermione, and shouted two simple words, words that could probably save her from her demise.

'I hope this works…'

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Nothing happened…

"Accio mudblood!"

Nothing happened…

'Fine2x… I'm sorry!'

"Accio Hermione!"

Nothing happened...

'I feel stupid…'

"Appareo!" He screamed out as a last resort. He closed his eyes in concentration, thinking of landing on the ground floor. It was the only way he knew to save the girl from dying.

It was on pure instinct that he decided to save her. He just acted without thinking.

A loud deafening _CRACK _was heard. He reached her just in time but she was already unconscious. He caught her in his arms but not before he noticed that they were floating in mid-air. They both seemed to stop from falling, just 5 feet or so from the ground, from the entrance hall. He secured her tightly in his arms, afraid that they were still in danger of falling. But nothing happened; they were still hanging in mid-air. Draco started shifting his legs around. Nothing happened. They couldn't get down.

'Bloody hell… I'm supposed to apparate with feet touching the floor! Not in mid-air!' he let out a sigh of frustation. 'I swear I'm never going do this again!'

Draco looked around him. "Now how are we supposed to get down?" He said as he pulled Hermione closer to him. Her back was leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around her waist protectively. It gave the impression that they were hugging in mid-air.

'This girl is heavy… What does she stuff herself with anyway? … I don't know if I can keep this up any longer…'

All of a sudden, another thought crossed his mind, one that is more important and should be more acknowledged.

'Shit… What if the other students see me this way? I'm dead! Wait… Maybe I should just drop her? We're only a few feet from the ground anyway. She won't die, probably break some of her bones but at least she won't be dead.' He tried to convince himself but it was too late. The loud noise that came from his apparating had attracted some attention and now, doors were opening from both sides of the entrance hall: the staff room, the great hall and the dungeons. The worst part was when he looked at the grandfather's clock near the big oak doors, he realized that any minute now students were going to bustle down the grand staircase and into the entrance hall since classes were to be over for the day.

'Oh God… If they look up, I'm dead…'

* * *

"Mr. Malfoy! What are you doing up there? And who's that with you? Get down this instant!" Professor McGonagall's shrill voice echoed through the hall, attracting more attention to the pair hanging in mid-air. She and some of the teachers were in a meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore when they heard an earsplitting crack, which they reckoned came from someone who has just apparated. They didn't however expect to see two students floating airborne, looking very suspicious indeed, as if they were about to show public display of affection.

"I have a lot of explaining to do…" Draco cursed and muttered softly to himself, still holding on to the unconscious girl.

Students were now gathering around the pair, looking up at them as if it was a big joke. Some were whispering and pointing at them. Draco knew that pretty soon, rumors were going to spread about their unlikely position. It didn't help that everyone knew who Draco was and of his reputation.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" said Professor McGonagall in a loud voice, her hands on her hips.

Professor Snape, who had also heard the deafening crack, had just emerged from the dungeons. He then saw his favorite pupil floating on air. He knew that Draco was supposed to fetch Madame Pomfrey not fraternize with what he called an "enemy". With eyebrows raised, he waited for Draco to explain himself.

Dumbledore who was quiet all this time stepped out, "Calm down, Minerva…" he said wistfully as he surveyed Draco and Hermione. "You two," continued Dumbledore, pointing to the two. "…get down…"

All this fuss was making Draco nervous. Everyone was staring at him and Hermione. Some were laughing. He couldn't let this happen. He had a reputation. He had people's respect and fear; he wasn't going to lose it just because of this incident, he told himself.

'You're very lucky you're unconscious right now…' he thought as he took a glance at Hermione who was leaning limply on his chest.

He was thinking of something good to say, something to save him from trouble. Finally, he said, "Professor, as much as I'd like to go down. I can't… because I'm… stuck… And this mudblo-… I mean Hermione here is unconscious. And uhhh… I'd be glad to explain how this all happened when uhhh… my feet are already touching the ground." He looked at the headmaster embarrassedly.

"Very well… Professor Sprout, will you please escort these students to the great hall so that I can talk to Mr. Malfoy? Thank you." Dumbledore said. He was very much aware that students were crowding around them, causing Draco more humiliation so to save Draco from the continued embarrassment, he asked the Herbology teacher to take the students away from the scene.

And so there was no one left but Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.

Snape couldn't take it anymore and so he asked, "What do you mean exactly by saying you are stuck?" He looked up at the two inquiringly. "I can see that there's nothing up there keeping you from going down."

Draco saw the irritation on Snape's face. He knew that being caught in this position by his house head was going to get him in deep trouble even if he was a favorite student of his.

"Sir… I'm stuck up here… on air…"


	12. What I did was wrong?

**Chapter 12** _(What I did was wrong?)_

"_Sir… I'm stuck up here… on air…"_

"You're stuck? Now how did that happen?" Dumbledore stared at Draco knowingly. He already had an idea of what had happened but he wanted to hear Draco speak the truth. He smiled and waited for his response.

Draco gulped. He knew the look that the headmaster was giving him. Dumbledore was seeing through him.

'I hope I don't get into too much trouble…'

He gazed at Hermione who was limp in his arms, unconscious. "Why did you have to pick the time to jump when I was just around the corner? I wouldn't have saved you…" He said softly.

'_But you did save her… It's too late to change that now…'_ A voice inside him said.

'Why did I do it?' He didn't even want to answer that question. He just wanted to get out of this mess.

But somewhere deep in his heart, he knew why he did it. The look that Hermione gave him before she jumped was an image he would never forget. Her eyes alone conveyed deep sorrow. At that time, he couldn't just let her end her life. He acted without thinking. He just got up and done it. Call him anything but he was still human, he knew what grief could cost a person.

They were all looking at him. He was taking too long to respond. Finally, Draco cleared his throat and said, "Sir, I… TRIED to apparate but FAILED to do it correctly."

"Why I never…" Professor McGonagall stood stiffly as she looked back at Dumbledore, her eyes wide in shock. "Headmaster, that's impossible! Hogwarts has protection against apparating! Surely, no one would be able to apparate in our school."

Dumbledore placed one hand under his chin and thought for a moment. "Last time I checked, we still have that sort of protection. Something tells me though that you are forgetting something, Minerva. Isn't it that some of the sixth years are having their apparition tutorial today? It is possible that Mr. Malfoy was able to apparate when the apparition ban has been temporarily lifted to make way for the practicing sixth years."

Professor McGonagall's face reddened. "I… You're right headmaster… That completely slipped off of my mind. But it still doesn't explain how Mr. Malfoy is now floating in mid-air."

"That is what concerns me, Minerva. I suspect that Mr. Malfoy is notyet thatgood in apparating. Am I right, young man? Well then I only suggest that you listen well in the next apparation tutorial." Dumbledore looked at Draco expectedly.

"Y-yes Sir… I…" Draco said exhaustedly. He couldn't take this anymore. The girl he was carrying seemed to add more pounds on her body in each minute that passes, making her hard to carry. Draco's arms were also already numb and all that floating wasn't doing him any good; and here are his teachers continuing to have a long discussion with his pathetic attempt at apparating instead of helping him and Hermione get down at once.

"I have a theory, headmaster. It is possible that my student apparated at the wrong time. Probably when he was about to land on the ground, the apparition ban returned and so he wasn't able to complete his apparating. That is why he is now stuck in mid-air," said Snape knowingly while looking at Draco straight in the eyes.

"Yes, it is possible Severus but for now I think our young man right here is growing a bit restless. We must bring him down now and have Ms. Granger brought to the hospital wing," said Dumbledore thoughtfully and as he did, he extended his right arm and pointed it at Draco and Hermione, muttering a few incantations under his breath.

'Whew… It's about time! I thought I was never going to get down. Why do old people have to speak so much instead of focusing on the problem at hand? Adults…' he sighed.

Draco and Hermione slowly descended. Draco landed softly on his feet with Hermione still in his arms. He had to support her body for if he didn't, she would fall.

'God... I can't feel my arms' he thought as he slowly let go of Hermione absent mindlessly and shook his arms on his sides to get rid of the sick feeling, making Hermione… fall with a loud thud.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Mcgonagall said in reprimand as she took one step forward.

"Ooops… Sorry 'bout that…" Draco smiled naughtily and bent down to grab Hermione by the waist. "Just had to shake my arms, you know. All that carrying made my arms feel numb." He said in a pathetic way for an excuse. Thankfully, Hermione was still unconscious and wasn't at all affected by the impact.

"That's enough for now. Minerva, would you please bring Ms. Granger to the hospital wing so that Madame Pomfrey can resuscitate her? Thank you." Dumbledore said briskly.

The transfiguration teacher took Hermione from Draco and conjured a stretcher out of nowhere. There she placed Hermione's body and made the stretcher move on its own to the hospital wing with the teacher pointing her wand at it.

Dumbledore now looked at Draco and said, "As for you young man, you must tell us what really happened. Come; let us speak in the Teacher's Lounge. You too, Severus." He motioned for the two to come.

* * *

"SHE WHAT!" exclaimed Professor Snape for Draco had just told them that Hermione had planned to commit suicide and had Draco not been at the right place and at the right time, she would have been dead by now.

Dumbledore just sat quietly, comprehending on what Draco had just said. 'What could have triggered this girl to try taking her own life?' He thought. 'What kind of trouble is she in?' And at that, he asked Draco once more; "You said you saw her running from a separate direction before she jumped. Now, where do you think did she come from?"

"Err… I think she came from Arithmancy class."

"And why do you say that?"

'Oh shit… He might think that I've researched her class schedule'

"Uhhh… Because the Arithmancy classroom is situated in the third floor? Yeah, that's it…"

"Hmmm… We'll have to talk to Professor Grillwalker then. She might be able to shed some light on this situation," said Dumbledore, his right hand stroking his chin.

"Ummm… Sir… Does this mean that I'm not in trouble? I mean I did save her and all so… can I go n--" Draco was cut off in mid sentence by the sudden loud opening of the door.

_BAM_

In came Professor McGonagall who was white in the face and was trembling all over, her finger shakingly pointing at Draco. "You… YOU!" She yelled and lunged towards him.

Draco backed down into a wall. He didn't know what was happening. His teacher was giving him a deadly look. Her face looked livid. And for the first time in his life, Draco felt perturbed. "Professor… I…"

"Minerva, calm down… What is wrong? Is Ms. Granger awake now? Is she alright?" Dumbledore asked hurriedly, concern and shock written all over his face.

"Draco was just telling us how Hermione tried to commit suicide and that he saved her from doing so." Snape added in interferance. He was intrigued as to why the Transfiguration teacher was acting that way. Whatever the reason was, it's not good, he thought.

"You want to know what happened, huh? I'll tell you what REALLY happened! When Hermione woke up after Pomfrey resuscitated her, she became hysterical and kept on shouting. We had to calm her down and make her stable but not after she said that young Mr. Malfoy here had pushed her over the stairs' railings and tried to kill her. The poor girl told me that she muttered some incantation to make him change his mind, and so he did at the LAST minute. But that's not the point! Draco tried to kill one of my students!" Professor McGonagall said in an outrage.

"That's not true! Professor… I SWEAR! I did not try to kill Hermione! I saved her! She tried to kill herself! I had nothing to do with it!" Draco said in horror. He looked at Dumbledore and Snape and finally at his Transfiguration teacher who looked as if she was poised for the kill.

"Draco…" Dumbledore said softly. He felt a big headache coming onto him with all that is happening today. He didn't know whom to believe.

Even Professor Snape was shocked and was quiet. He could not believe that his favorite pupil could do such a thing but then again, he never did know how much Draco was capable of.

"Professor, I swear I did not try to kill Hermione! Please believe me!" Draco pleaded. He looked at his House head for support but he too was at a loss for words.

Draco felt like his whole world has come down on him. His life shattered by this particular incident. He did not kill anyone and was not capable of doing so. He was shaking. And as he tried to make his teachers believe that he did not try to kill anyone, he bowed his head, his bangs concealing his pale blue eyes.

'I did not do it…'

'I did not do it…'

'I did not do it…'

And on and on, he said as one by one, tears started to fall from his eyes.


	13. Something in return

**Chapter 13 **_(Something in return)_

_Verisaterum_…

_Verisaterum_…

_Verisaterum_…

The word kept on repeating on his mind. It would not stop. And soon, he would have to have it against his will, wait until the next full moon to do so. Just to prove his innocence. He had no choice.

'_It's all your fault… I shouldn't have saved you. I should have let you fall down to your death. I saved you and this is what I get in return… I hate you.'_

Draco slowly sat down on his bed, his hands covering his entire face. He was shaking. His hair was a mess. Everything was a mess. He hadn't gone out of the room for two straight days since that unfortunate incident last Friday. The Slytherin House Elf was the one that brought him food, one that he rarely touched. He was supposed to be in the Quidditch field right now, practicing with his teammates.

Earlier that morning, Pansy had knocked on the door to try and put some sense into him but to no avail. She wanted to see what was wrong with Draco. It hurt her to see him suffer or at least that's what she feels is happening to him right now.

Draco stubborn as ever, refused to go out. He just wanted to be alone, drown in his misery, now why can't anyone understand that?

He knew that word of mouth was powerful. He was certain that by now, rumors were circulating around the campus of his so-called encounter with the mudblood. But did he care? He certainly did. You'd think that by now he'd be proving everyone wrong of those unfair accusations thrown upon him, but he wasn't. He was completely drained of his energy.

This wasn't the same Draco who would fight strongly for what he believed in. Everything had changed. He had changed.

Meanwhile, in the hospital wing…

"I'm scared Harry… She hasn't woken up in days. And here I am, holding her hand, hoping to get some kind of a reaction but it's not working. I want to know what exactly happened. I want her to be the one to tell me," said Ron, who was sitting alongside Harry near Hermione's bed. He looked at the girl with deep longing and concern.

Harry could see how much Ron really cared for their best friend Hermione and to think that the last time they talked with the girl was in an argument. He could never forgive himself for that. He wanted the three of them to be friends again, to start a new but Harry knew that it could only happen once Hermione stopped pushing them away.

"Err… Ron… I heard that it was Malfoy."

"Malfoy? What's he got to do with all of this?" Ron, more alert at hearing their enemy's name sat still in his chair.

"Remember that third-year named Slone, the one who was shrieking in pain when we first visited Hermione? He was the one that used that bed over there," Harry said pointing over a remote bed on the other side of the aisle, "Well, he was here when they brought Hermione in and he overheard her say that Malfoy tried to kill her by pushing her down the stairs."

"He what!" Ron roared in anger. He suddenly stood up, dropping Hermione's hand hastily. His face was contorted in deep anger. "Why didn't anyone mention this to me sooner?"

"Calm down, Ron… I didn't know it myself. I just learned it recently from Slone when he passed a short message to me in the Great Hall awhile ago. He wrote in that message that Dumbledore asked him not to tell anyone about it."

"Dumbledore… Now why would he try to defend that… that… murderer… that filthy scum. When I find Malfoy, I swear I'm going to kill him!"

"You can expect my support on that one Ron…" Harry said determinedly.

* * *

"Severus, how's the Verisaterum going?" asks Dumbledore.

"It is going well, headmaster. Full moon will be next week and it will be ready by then."

"I am tired of waiting, headmaster. My patience is running out. We can't just simply wait for this potion to show us what we're looking for. For all we know, Mr. Malfoy might be thinking of his new victim!" said McGonagall.

"I assure you, Minerva that my student is not capable of doing such a thing to anyone. I only agreed to make this potion because headmaster asked me to do so but if not; I would completely put my trust and do everything on my power to prove that my pupil is innocent. It is your student, Ms. Granger that we should be careful of. I fear she is not in her right state of mind." Snape said with a disdainful smirk on his face.

"Now2x, you two… Stop this arguing and let's all just wait for what is about to happen. And you, Minerva, remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Keep that in mind." Dumbledore said.

* * *

"You two... Go down and have your dinner. Visiting hours are over. Just come back in the morning," Madame Pomfrey said briskly to Harry and Ron.

"But can't we just stay a little while longer? We won't disturb anyone, we promise."

"No… And that's final. Now go down before I lose my patience."

"Don't worry Ron. We can come back later after eating. We'll use my dad's invisibility cloak, ok? Now don't worry about it." Harry said in a hushed tone as Madame Pomfrey led them out of the hospital wing.

* * *

Draco made up his mind. Tonight, he would be paying Hermione a little visit and maybe give her a hell of something in return. It was time he found out the truth and not just bits and pieces of it. He wanted to make her pay for the lies that she so greatly made up and had him suffer for. Enough was enough. He'd show her what he was made of. After this night, nothing will ever be the same again.

_Knock Knock_

In came the Slytherin house elf to give Draco his dinner for the night.

"Is there anything else you want Mr. Malfoy?" The house elf squeaked.

"All is well. You may go now."

The house elf flinched uncertainly, bowed his head and went out of the room in a hurry.

"Now… Don't blow your chance." Draco said to himself as he buttoned up his blouse while looking at his reflection on a full-length mirror, pleased with his appearance. He has grown a few inches taller than last year and numerous trainings in Quidditch gave him a broader and stronger body. Muscles were developing on his upper torso and girls could notice them very much, well, Pansy could, especially since she spends half of her time dreaming about him.

Draco sighed as he sat down on his bed once more with nothing to do but wait till the other Slytherins went up the boy's dormitory and slept. By the time everyone was at their beds, that would be his cue to go to the hospital wing and pay Hermione a visit.

This time, Draco would not be going without any sort of help. A gift sent to him by his mother, obviously purchased at the Sleuths and Stones, will aid him in his quest tonight.

A simple cloak?

He thinks not.

This will be the perfect opportunity for him to try out his new gift, a newly manufactured invisibility cloak with a much better enhanced prototype.

"Hmmm… Let's see…" Draco continued as he inquisited upon the cloak's wrapper, looking for some piece of paper about the product.

Surprise, surprise. Instead of a single piece of parchment, Draco saw two folded ones. He opened the first and saw that it was a letter addressed to him by Mr. Sleuthstone himself, the owner of the store. And it read,

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_I give this to you on the request of my very good friend, your mother, Narcissa, to aid you in whatever situation that you feel needs your outmost attention and effort. She, your mother Narcissa, thinks that at these dangerous times, you her beloved son must take outmost care and be in the company of safety at all times. That is why this invisibility cloak I bestow upon you is unlike any other of its existence. (Please see the other parchment attached to this package and you will find the information you seek of this wondrous product.)_

_Keep in mind to not tell anyone of this priceless possession for I am forbidden to sell such a valued cloak to ordinary civilians much less a student like you. For you see, I am only advised to share this invention to Aurors and to anyone of Ministry of Magic descent. _

_Yours in Sleuths and Stones,_

_Mr. Edilbert Sleuthstone_

_Order of the Warlock-in-arms, _

_5th Most Honorable_

"Thank you, mother…" Draco drawled as he tossed the letter aside and reached for the second parchment. "Now this… is what I'm looking for…"

Draco finished reading the whole parchment with a smile on his face. Obviously contented with what he had, he voiced to himself the important features of his cloak. "…will expand to any size that the bearer wants it to, is able to accommodate a large number of people but will serve one person faithfully, in addition however, it cannot be worn by another person unless its master allows it to, can also change from a cloak of invisibility to visibility to give a mirage of a seemingly harmless cloak, can never be detected by any sort of incantation or any form of magic even to its most powerful extent, will appear out of nowhere in the hands of its master when it senses that its bearer is in danger or is in need of its help, will disappear almost immediately when it senses other people who wants to steal it for their own personal gain but will return however to the hands of its rightful owner, can never be destroyed unless its master wishes for it to self-destruct, etc, etc…"

_This is great… This is perfect… _

I like it…


	14. To Her Rescue

**Chapter 14 **_(To Her Rescue)_

_A figure in a dark cloak stood tall in front of the Hospital Wing, with eyes that seemed to bore holes on its doors by the way they stared at them. Slowly, the figure approached the doors and muttered a spell; the doors to the Hospital Wing suddenly threw open. In went the figure with only one goal on its mind, to get rid of her…_

_The figure walked with calm, long strides as it approached the bed on which laid the girl it was yearning to get a hold of. The figure knelt in front of the girl. Its face inches away from her as it leaned in to get a better view. The figure used one hand to caress one cheek, snickering, seeing the girl flinch in alarm. Right there and then it wanted to do something bad to her, something so great yet malevolent, anything to make her pay for all the unwanted sufferings. With a hand on her cheek, it slowly made its way to her neck, tracing the lines that run across it. The figure then took out another hand and used both hands to wrap them both gently around her frail little neck; the figure was in control this time. And if no one stepped up soon, the girl would be lost forever…_

* * *

Draco slid out of the Slytherin Common Room and quickly made his way to the Hospital Wing. He knew the perfect spell on how he could enter the hospital wing. A certain someone taught him a spell for opening locked doors, something much more powerful than Alohomora.

Rounding a corner, he took off at a brisk pace seeing the hospital wing straight ahead of him. He stopped inches away from its doors. He stretched out his hand to touch the door knob. To his surprise, he was able to turn it around and push open the door. 'What the… Why is this door left opened?' Draco thought as he slowly slid himself inside the room. He was not ready for what he saw…

* * *

"Harry! Wake up! We're going to see Hermione, remember?" Ron prodded Harry repeatedly to get him to stand up.

"W-what?" Harry said groggily as he took his glasses off his bedside table and wore them. He saw Ron standing expectedly in front of him, fully dressed and ready.

"Sorry about that Ron. Here, I'll just get my cloak and then we can go."

* * *

"Hey! Get off of her!" Draco yelled at Hermione's attacker and ran to her rescue. He saw Hermione struggling under the strong grip of someone. Draco could not tell if the attacker was a man or not. It was dark and the person was wearing a hooded cloak. Draco could see that Hermione was choking. Her eyes were turning red and her tongue was lolling out. It was unnerving to see that not one of the other patients in the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey herself did not stir or even wake up from their beds. With the loud noise that they were making, it's as if someone charmed them to not hear anything.

Draco sprang on Hermione's attacker. He threw a punch on the figure's face. The mysterious person staggered a little. The figure fought back and threw repeated punches on Draco, most of which Draco was able to evade. One punch however busted Draco's lip. Draco fell to the ground and was caught by surprise. Suddenly, the figure took out its wand and pointed it at Draco, "Avada Keda-"

Draco stared in shock at the figure in front of him, he knew what was going to happen next. As soon as those words were spoken, he would never live to see light again.

Draco closed his eyes. He was going to die. This was his end.

"_Nooooo!"_

It was Harry, he came in just in time to see the cloaked figure point his wand at Draco. "Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled.

The wand flew out of its owner's hand. Seeing defeat, the figure turned and ran away from the scene, pushing the hospital wing doors open.

"Malfoy! Are you alright! Who was that?" Harry asked with a grave look on his face.

Ron who was shaking, offered his hand out to Draco to help him get up. "Why didn't anyone else here hear you! These people…" Ron said as he looked at the other beds with people lying down on them, seeming to be asleep. "And Madame Pomfrey! How could she not hear you!"

"I didn't see the face of her attacker…" Draco said, sputtering blood from his upper lip as he spoke. He slowly crept towards Hermione. She was unconscious but he could see that she was breathing normally again.

Draco was relieved to see that Hermione was alright. He got up but it didn't take long before he too fell into unconsciousness, but not before he took Hermione's hand in his own.


	15. She did it again

**Chapter 15 **_(She did it again)_

**(A/N: The following paragraphs are written as excerpts from Raine's diary. When she was alive, she kept one but no one has ever found it yet. These excerpts may appear every now and then in the story so don't be confused. These were written in the year 1996, Raine was 17. The present year for this story would be 2005.)**

_October 24_

_I was walking alone, minding my own business when I saw him. He was with his friends, laughing about something or… someone. Probably me, I thought. But then he saw me and he said something else to the two who were with him. I continued to stare at him as he slowly approached me and said something which at first, I could not comprehend. I was lost in his eyes, his fairly pale blue eyes. Pools of water, radiating the sparkle and beauty as they glowed. They were exquisite. _

"_Raine? Are you okay?" His voice echoed as he slowly but gracefully put one hand on my shoulder._

"_Huh? Yeah…" I said. I didn't know why he was talking to me, why he would even waste his time doing so. I mean why would he? He was after all the captain of a Quidditch team and had so many girls after him and yet here he was trying to make a conversation with me. It must be a joke, I thought. What else could explain this sudden change? Usually, no one would take this long to bother with me. The only time my schoolmates spoke to me was when they asked me a question or want to copy my Divination homework. You'd understand why I'd be acting cold around him this time._

"_Why are you talking to me and what do you want?" I said icily as he looked at me intently, trying to figure me out. I was mad and cynical. I preferred to think of this encounter as the beginning of another prank. Keeping that in mind was much easier to deal with. But if he thought that I wasn't going to be armed then he thought wrong. _

_  
"Hey, take it easy, will you? I'm just wanted to say hi and ask how you're doing… I'm sorry for what my friends did to you the other day. Frankly, you may think it's weird but it was the first time I saw you that day. I mean I know my friends couldn't stop talking about you before… but…"_

_I interrupted him this time, "Talking about me? Really" I popped an eyebrow. "Don't you mean making fun of me? Listen, if you're just going to do the same thing then hear this, I don't like you or your friends and I don't think I'll ever will. I despise the people around here who are just like you and if you were in my place, you'd understand why. And frankly, the only reason why I'd kept quiet and had the audacity to still stay in this school is because I want to ensure a future for myself. And if you're just going to be one of those people who'd want to bring me down, humiliate me, and step on my whole being, then I don't ever want to speak to you again.!" I said, frustrated as I gave him a slight push. Okay so maybe lashing out on him was a bit overboard but who could blame me? I was sick and tired of everything that was going on with my life. I didn't use to be like this, bitter about life. I just don't want to trust anybody anymore. _

_He laughed._

_That wasn't the reaction I was counting on. The amused look on his face just aggravated me more. I wanted to hit him. "What's so funny?" I asked furiously, my eyebrows together in tight knots._

"_I'm sorry…" More laughter. "It's just that when I first met you I never expected you to utter more than two words. You seemed silent at that time. I didn't know you'd be this… spunky." He trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "But you know I'm not as bad as you think…" This time he said a little hurt._

"_You're right…" I said, showing a little compassion as I looked at him straight in the eyes. _

_He smiled at me but it didn't take long for it to change into a scowl. _

"_You could be worse…"_

His condition was deteriorating and yet as much as he wanted to blame her for all his sufferings, he couldn't. He had loved her. It was all a big mistake. No one had to die that fateful day.

It was still dark outside. He got out of his bed and started to pace around his room, thinking. 'I have to stop this… I have to forget. I don't want to remember anymore…'

"Maybe I should start seeing someone else…" Mort said as he looked at his face with a handheld mirror that he got from his bedside table. He pushed back a lock of his long brown hair away from his face. Gray orbs stared back at him. His eyes were a testament of time, a constant reminder of the past, of what he had done. They would never give him peace. She would never give him peace.

_

* * *

Draco… Draco…_

_Someone was calling his name but he was too weak. He could not move. His whole body was in pain. He wanted nothing more but to scream out in agony. _

_Draco… _

_It was that voice again. _

_Why won't it just leave him alone? Whoever it was, can't it see that he was too tired to even move? _

_Draco… _

_Help me…_

_Please…_

_I need you…_

"_Shut up!" Draco screamed. "I can't. Stop. No. Leave. Me. Alone." _

_It's me…_

_Hermione…_

"Aaahhhh!"

"Mr. Malfoy, calm down. If you move, we won't be able to bandage your wound," said Madame Pomfrey, her eyes full of concern. Alongside her were Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Ron, and Harry.

But Draco kept on moving hysterically. His hands went up to his head, clutching as if it would separate from his neck. He was in deep excruciating pain. It felt like his head was about to burst and that his body was lying on a bed of nails.

"Voices in my head… Can't. Think. Straight." He said, over and over. "Help me!" He said as he tried to get a hold of someone.

"You two," Dumbledore said as he directed his attention to Harry and Ron, "hold his arms on both sides to restrain him from moving. Pomfrey, don't you have some calming draught with you? A small vial would be enough for Mr. Malfoy here."

Harry and Ron went and did what Dumbledore asked them to do. They took hold of Draco's arms and placed them on both sides of his body. Madame Pomfrey then took out her wand, muttered a few incantations, after which a small vial that contained a silver-grayish liquid appeared on her hand.

"Now hold still," Pomfrey said despite Draco's continuing efforts to break loose. She opened Draco's mouth with one hand and poured the contents of the vial with the other.

Draco finally calmed down, his body falling limp on his bed. His breathing was normal again and with his eyes closed, he at least looked at peace with himself.

Harry and Ron let go of Draco's arms. They stood back and observed as the contents of the vial took its toll on Draco.

"Now about Ms. Granger… Pomfrey, how is she?" The headmaster asked as his eyes fell on the contour of the girl who was just two beds away from Draco.

"She's fine, headmaster. She was unconscious the whole time that it happened. I doubt she'll remember anything when she wakes up." The school nurse said in reply.

"I just don't get it headmaster. Why would anyone want to kill Ms. Granger? She is no threat to anybody." Professor Snape said for the first time. He couldn't think of a reason why someone would be interested in getting rid of the girl. She was after all, just a mudblood. Surely no one would kill over that small matter.

"Yes2x I know Severus but something tells me that there is more to this unfortunate… er… incident. I will get to the bottom of this. What we know at the moment is that Ms. Granger's life is in danger with this killer on the loose. She needs protection," Dumbledore said, his forehead creased with more wrinkles. This wasn't the start of the school year that he had in mind.

"With all due respect sir, we'll do it. We'll protect Hermione." Harry said determinedly, interrupting Dumbledore and Snape. "We'll keep watch on her sir, at all times."

"Er… Ummm… Not all the time Harry. She does have some things to do on her own." Ron said nervously, as he stood to catch a glimpse of Hermione.

Snape looked incredulously at the two, and then looked to Dumbledore awaiting his reaction. "I don't think that's such a good idea headmaster…"

"They are her friends and no matter what I say, they'll still be doing what they want to do. However, you two are also under my protection and so I only ask that the both of you do not go running around trying to look for the killer, am I understood?" Dumbledore said sternly, his face deeply serious.

"Sir, you have our word…"

* * *

Hermione was awakened in the middle of the night. She did not know where she was. She tried to move one arm but couldn't. That's when she saw Harry and Ron who was lying with their heads down on Hermione's arm. They were asleep, with the rest of their bodies hidden by Harry's invisibility cloak. 'Am I in the hospital wing? Why am I here and what happened?'

Suddenly, a movement a few feet away or so from her bed caught her attention. Somebody else was in there with her, she thought. Who could it be? That's when she saw his face. It was Draco. He too was asleep, lying in a bed just like hers. Pinpricks of light from a nearby window illuminated his face. Hermione thought that he looked like an angel when he was asleep. His hair just a tad ruffled, but other than that it was fine.

That's when it hit her.

Oh. My. God.

What did I just do?

Raine…

She did it again…

**(A/N: Here's how it goes. Hermione shifts from Raine to being herself. Suddenly she's Raine, the next, she's back to being Hermione again. Review please!)**


	16. I will protect you

(A/N: There is a lesson to be learned here and that is to never listen to a word that I'm saying. I told you guys before, that I am going to make major changes in this story, but now I decided to screw that plan and just continue with what I've started. By now you must know that I am a lousy decision-maker and so, sorry for the confusion.)

**Chapter 16** _(I will protect you)_

It wasn't after the next day did Draco wake up. His eyes fluttered as he tried to open them. His vision was quite blurred but he could still vaguely make out the outline of a person who was sitting quietly on the side of his bed.

"How is she?" He asked uncertainly, thinking of Hermione. More than anything else, he wanted to know if Hermione was alright, the memory of his dream still fresh in his mind. She was the one calling out to him. She sounded so desperate. She chose him and now, there'd be no one stopping him from doing what he had to do. He struggled to get up but a firm hand stopped him from doing so, holding him back.

"You are too weak… Do not bother yourself by getting up." A soft voice answered.

Draco opened his eyes wide at the sound of that voice. It was her. She was the one sitting so close to him. "M-mudblood?" He said, unsure of what to say. He didn't expect her to be this close to him. She was more hurt than he was and yet here she was, apparently having more strength in her than he had.

"You are never going to change, ferret boy." She said angrily as she swiftly got up and turned to leave.

"No… Wait, don't!" Draco said frantically as he too got up and out of his bed, flinching all of a sudden as a rapid gush of pain washed over him due to his sudden movement. He groaned in pain and fell back on his bed, breathing heavily.

"Idiot… Stay there and I'll get Madame Pomfrey," Hermione said hastily.

"Don't leave…"

"You are hurt."

"It doesn't matter…" This time, more careful of what he was about to do, Draco used his hands to steady himself as he slowly put his weight on his feet and was able to stand up. He faced Hermione with his full height. He was standing so close to her. He was looking at her intently, trying to make sense of it all.

"What is it that bothers you, Hermione?" His eyes bore into hers; trying to get whatever truth she had hidden in them.

"What? What do you mean? I… I don't know what you're talking about…" She trailed of, suddenly wary of the fact that Draco had mentioned her name. Draco was about to discover her secret. She couldn't let that happen. Lives were at stake here. _No! Please… Do not get involved. My life is as complicated as it is…_

Slowly, he put one hand on her shoulder and used the other to turn her face towards him. _"Look atme…"_

"_Tell me…"_

"I… I…" Hermione was at a loss for words. She couldn't take it anymore. _You are weak! _A voice screamed inside her followed by a... _You can never get rid of me! You are mine! You will do whatever I say and want! _"No…" she sobbed. Her hands clutching her face as tears started to fall from her eyes. She fell downon her knees, shaking uncontrollably. "You don't understand… No one understands… No one can help me… Don't you see? There is no escape! I am alone… I am alone… I am alone…" She said the last part over and over again. Pain was gnawing at her insides. She was being torn apart. Indeed she felt very much alone.

Draco looked at her pityingly. He too fell on his knees, staring at her quietly with a somber look on his face.

"_You are not alone…" _He said firmly.

Strong arms pulled Hermione close to him. Draco had wrapped both his arms around her waist, hugging her tight. She barely reached his shoulder, her head resting on Draco's chest. She could feel the warmth of his body together with his heart beating fast. Hermione was stunned. She couldn't find the words to say. She was unsure of what to feel.

What he said next though could not prepare her for the worst shock of her life.

" _I will protect you… God help me… I will protect you…"_

(A/N: Yeah I know, this chapter is short but so are all the other chapters. Anyway, you guys know what to do. Review please! Tell me what you think of this chapter.)


	17. The promise

**Chapter 17** _(The promise )_

_The trees were silent that afternoon, its branches swinging softly back and forth. The gentle breeze caressing its shapely leaves. The sound of crickets could be heard, calmly resonating through the vast and mysterious forest that lay bearer of its home. Yes, it was indeed peaceful. And only one girl dared to witness nature in all its wondrous glory. Raine. She was sitting on the grass, in a small clearing inside the forest, her legs tucked neatly in front of her. Beyond her was the legendary lake, rumored to be the home to the lot of mystifying sea creatures. This was her special place. Whenever she needed the time to think or when she is experiencing emotions at its extremes, she would go to this special place and just stare at the infinite horizon in front of her. Its beauty was so great, so pure that she hoped she had the same thing. She wanted to embrace it, to be a part of it. Nature was where she found her peace. That was the one thing that no one can ever take away from her. _

_Suddenly, a voice that sounded so familiar interrupted her thoughts. Hands reached out and covered her eyes which resulted with the girl giving in with a growl._

"_Guess who…" The voice said humorously as it awaited the response of the girl it had grown to respect and love. _

_The owner of the voice looked at the girl good-naturedly as he listened to the names one-by-one that the girl managed to give him, feeling triumphant that she could not recognize him._

"_Hmmm… Let me see…" The girl said, giving in to this game she knew so well. She in fact knew who it was that was behind her but she wasn't going to admit it straight out loud, not just yet. She had some plans of her own. She smiled to herself as she purposely placed her hands gently on the arms of her captor, "Is it you Henry? No? Well, I know who you are… Frederick! No? Peter? I know! Adam! It's you, isn't it?" The smile on her face became wider as she heard the person behind her groan in frustration, its hands loosening from the place it held on top of her eyes._

"_Oh I'm terribly sorry! I forgot to mention the name of this one man. Hmmm… This man… I may have even forgotten to say that this man is the only one I have ever loved and will forever do so." She turned around instinctively, facing the man that was her own. The one man who accepted and loved her for who she was. She laid a hand on his right cheek, caressing it slowly. "Mort…"_

_Mort could only beam in great satisfaction as he heard those thoughtful words that were directed at him. He had certainly never felt this strongly for anyone before. He was deeply in love with this girl. She was everything to him. She kept him sane and alive at the same time. She was the one person that changed him. She made such a great impact in his life and for that he would forever be indebted to her. _

"_I love you," he said softly as he placed his hand on top of hers that was lying momentarily on his cheek. He looked at her with foregone passion and ardor in his eyes. _

"_I love you too…" She said as she felt him close the gap between them when he leaned in for a kiss. It was slow and deliberate. Everything was perfect. She finally felt blessed._

"_Have I ever told you how much I love those sea green eyes of yours?" She giggled as he then proceeded to blew air softly to her neck, tickling her. "I could stare at it forever you know."_

"_You have. A lot of times by the way." He grinned as he gently laid his head on her lap as he too looked at the horizon. The sun was setting. The skies were enveloped in orange and yellow pigments. It was exquisitely beautiful. He was extremely glad to have witnessed this wondrous work of nature with no other than the girl he loves. "You know they say life is short. Let's say you wake up one day and I'm not there. All your dreams, everything you wished for and all you wanted – gone just like that. People get old and you know, things change and situations change. What I want is – I just – I want this moment, right now, this day and my feelings for you, the way you look right now, the way I look at you. I just want this to last forever you know."_

_Raine soothingly ran her hands through his hair, slowly caressing his head. "Well they will. I mean no matter what, we'll always have this, we have each other and nothing can change that. I just want you to know that no matter what you'll always have somebody here for you. Always. I'm never gonna leave you. I'm never gonna leave you," she said as she looked intently at him._

"_I love you…" She said, absorbedly._

"_I know…"_

"_Promise me something…" She trailed off as she continued to look over the horizon, the magnificent sun setting. _

"_Anything…" He said truthfully as he too looked at the beauty unfolding in front of him. _

"_Don't ever leave me…"_

"_I won't."_

"_Don't ever leave me."_

"_I won't… I won't… "

* * *

_

"Where is he? Tell me where my boyfriend is! " The blonde-haired girl was practically screaming as she tried to get some truth out of her boyfriend's friends.

"Boyfriend? Don't you mean ex-boyfriend?" Derek sneered as he watched the very beautiful girl make a scene in front of them.

"He is still mine! Now tell me where he is!" She shrieked. _If these two idiots don't give me an answer, I swear I'm going to rip those mouths off their disgusting heads._

"Are we our friend's keeper? No wait… You're his keeper and now he's escaped from your zoo!" Craig said snootily as he and Derek then laughed at the poor sight that was in front of them.

"Why you…" She said, angrily. No one had the right to talk to her that way. The nerve of this man! She jabbed her wand to his chest and hissed, "I will give you one more chance to tell me where Mort is. If you don't cooperate with me, I will not hesitate to hex you to oblivion. Got it?"

"Whoa, whoa. Easy, tiger." Craig could only smirk back at the girl who was only a head shorter than him. The girl was strikingly pretty with her long straight blonde hair that fell onto her slender waist. She had a much defined nose, high cheekbones, and a normal-set mouth. Her eyes were deeply cerulean. She was taller than most girls of her age. She was beautiful and she knew it. She never let anyone forget about it.

"That's it!" She yelled. She muttered an incantation under her breath but the man only side-stepped to avoid her hex.

"Pathetic. Now that's what I call amateur." Derek said, laughing his head off.

"Quit it, Celine. Move on. Besides, have you forgotten that it was you who dumped Mort in the first place? Mort likes someone else now although I must admit; he doesn't know what he's missing." Craig smirked as he walked closer to the girl.

"Ha! You honestly believe that he likes that freak? I mean, look at her and look at me. We are nothing alike! She is but a plaything to him! He will come back to me! I will make him mine again and that long-haired freak will regret the day she was born after I'm done with her." Celine said determinedly as she took a step forward and looked at Mort's friends distastefully.

_He is mine.

* * *

_

Draco was walking on his way to the library. He had an assignment for Transfiguration that no one could help him with and so he wanted to do some research on the topic. He was deep in thought as he rounded the corners of the fourth floor. The event of his last meeting with Hermione still stuck in his mind. The bruises in his arms were healing but a specific bruise on his face, particularly near the right side of his mouth, was still purple from the fight. He remembered it all to well. A figure clad in dark robes had tried to kill both him and Hermione. He was able to draw the attention of the figure away from Hermione, who was already at her way to complete suffocation.

_Avada Kedavra… If Potter didn't come, I would have been dead by now. _He sighed in frustration. Having your worst enemy save your life was not really in Draco's agenda. His thoughts then shifted to the girl who was the cause of it all.

_Granger… She is too weak yet I sense great evil that surrounds her. There is someone, someone that haunts her and she is terrified. I am sure of that._

_Why would anyone want to take her life? What does she have or better yet, what has she done in the past that would make someone despise her enough to kill her? _

_This is all too much and if I valued my life, I would stay away from her. However, I have gotten too much of myself involved and for some reason, I can't find it in myself to just abandon her and act as if nothing happened. She called out to me. And if I don't do something, I know I'd go crazy. I don't know why but there is something, something that pulls me close to her. I can't get away from it. It won't let me._

He turned the large brass handle to open the doors to the library. Pleased with himself, he found a nice location behind the 7th shelf of books on the left side of the library. There he sat on one of the cushioned chairs that scattered around. When he first entered, he had found the place deserted except for someone who was behind a long desk situated at the far end corner of the library. It was where Madame Pince usually stayed in to keep an eye on all the students that bustle to and fro with her books. But it wasn't Madame Pince that Draco saw. It was someone else, a very unfamiliar face. Draco could tell that it was a woman by the way she moved as she took large volumes of books in her hands and tried to put them in a pushcart. He heard her groan in frustration as two large hard-bound books fell from her grasp. Her hands were already occupied with enough books that she could muster.

_Those books are awfully heavy._ Draco thought as he too grimaced when another book fell off her hands.

"Let me help you." Draco managed to speak as he took long, brisk strides towards her. He scooped out some books from her arms and placed them slowly in the cart. He helped her gather the last of the books that was scattered on the floor, fixed them up and placed them too in the cart.

"Thank you…" The young woman said embarrassedly as she smiled gratefully at Draco.

"Where is Madame Pince?" Draco asked as he took no notice of the fact that she had just thanked him. He took a good look at the person in front of him. Indeed she looked young, Draco however was certain that she was in her early 20s. She possessed medium-length hair, the color of honey. Her hair fell in waves behind her back. She was very attractive. He could see that. But what really stood out from her well-defined face were her eyes. They were exceedingly in a dark shade of blue, a grayish tint in the center of both bore manifested in them. It seemed as if that whenever she spoke, the strange color in her eyes would grow wide and consume everything. There was another thing that caught his eyes and that was a soft tinge of discoloration in one of her cheekbones. Draco could tell that it was hastily covered up by white powder. He knew it was a purple bruise that graced her fine features.

"She's not here as of the moment. It seems that an important matter has come up and that there are some things she needed to take care of. I'm taking her place but only until after she comes back." The woman said as she smiled gently at Draco.

"That's weird… I never knew that she would someday leave the library. She seemed so much… attached to this place," he remarked.

The woman laughed, winked at Draco and said, "Tell me about it, before she left, she told me to care for her books as if it were my own children that needed tending to and that if I found anyone sabotaging a book of any kind, I was to give that student a month's time of library work."

Draco shrugged as if he didn't find it all too amusing.

"My name's Cecille by the way. And you are?" The woman introduced herself.

"Draco…"

"Thank you for your help Draco."

* * *

"_Lumos." He muttered as a strong fiery light emerged from the tip of his wand. _

"Where is it? I know it was somewhere here…" Mort said helplessly as he tried to look for the place that they once shared. He went from tree to tree, inspecting them. He was to look for the one that had their names carved on them. That particular tree would mean that he was near that fateful place.

"This is hopeless… They are just too many…" He said as he surveyed the area before him. He was in the forest and so; one could imagine the number of trees that greeted him. They weren't that many when it was during his days. But now, as he looked at his surroundings, he knew that everything had changed and the worst part was, he felt that time has robbed him of the place that deeply reminded him of the person he held so dearly in his heart.

* * *

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

_Tick Tock_

She looked at the magnificent clock that stood in the corner of the room. It was a little past 6 in the evening. Outside a window, she could see the dark skies that seemed to lull her to sleep. She was in the Gryffindor common room, sitting on one of its soft and comfy armchairs, doing nothing. She chose to sit by the fire and stare at it aimlessly, gazing at the way the flames danced inside the fireplace.

All of a sudden, the door to the common room opened, in went Harry and Ron who were soaked in both sweat and rain. They have just come in from Quidditch practice.

"Oh! Hermione…" Ron said, startled when he saw her sitting by herself in the common room. "You're all by yourself?" He asked as he flopped down a chair, his clothes still dripping.

"Ron!" Hermione wrinkled her nose as she took a look at both of her best friends. "Go upstairs and change. You and Harry are going to make the carpet wet."

Ron sat back up, startled. "But..." He said in protest.

"Ron, Hermione's right. Let's go," said Harry, taking Ron by the arm and leading him out of there.

"I'll wait for you guys to be back, alright? Now go."

It wasn't until after they had taken a bath that they did come down, both found the girl still sitting on an armchair by the fire.

"Let's go to Hagrid's house. We haven't paid him a visit since we've got here. What do you think?" Harry asked Hermione as he took a seat next to her.

Hermione shrugged, "When do you want to go?"

"Now, if you're not busy." He said in reply.

"Let's go."

* * *

The three went down the castle grounds and made their way to Hagrid's hut. Soft spatters of rain fell down on them as they huddled close towards their destination. It didn't take long for them to see the smoke coming out of the house's chimney.

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Hagrid, it's us. Can we come in?" Harry asked as the three of them waited outside, in the rain.

"'Arry? Is that you?" A voice said behind the door. Hagrid's voice.

"It is." Harry said.

* * *

Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently. She was getting wet and she didn't like it one bit. She adjusted her cloak to protect her body from more exposure to the rain, at the same time, she looked at the ill-driven path that led to the forbidden forest and was surprised to see something moving behind those tall hedges. _What the…?_

There was definitely something behind those hedges but what could it be? She thought.

Hermione drew out her wand cautiously and motioned for the others to go on ahead without her.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked as he held open the door, waiting for Hermione to go inside.

"There's something I forgot to do. I'll see you and Harry later." Hermione said distractedly. Her eyes never leaving those hedges.

"You're already here. Why don't you come in for a while? It won't take long." Ron suggested, his eyes trailing off to where Hermione's was.

"Stop being a pest, Ron, and just close the door." Hermione hissed.

"Ok, ok. Sorry!" Hurt and confused, Ron did as he was told and closed the door.

Now that Ron was out of the way. Hermione slowly walked towards those bushes. Her wand cast out in front of her. "Who's there?" She said, unwaveringly.

She heard a soft groan.

"… _I can't see…"

* * *

_

(A/N: I tried my best in making this chapter long. I guess I'm really more of a short chapter author-type. It works for me. By the way, there's a particular small dialogue above that I based from a music video. It was so sweet and I couldn't resist putting it here. It conveyed the exact same thoughts that I planned to write for that specific scene. Anyway, please be kind and review! Ü)


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